Til There Was You
by becksbiggestfan
Summary: Elise Smith. Eleven years old. Missing: Ten years. Age when disappeared: 1 year and a month. Head Detective: Michael Cortez. Prime suspects: Jimmy Toole, and father Creg Smith. Both houses searched. No signs of the girl. This case hit personal for Kate.


Kate sat at her desk typing up her report. Rick sat next to her in his chair talking about Alexis's new boyfriend and she was only half listening. Her phone rang and she lunged for it, thankful for the distraction.

"Beckett. Uh huh. What? Are you sure? Manhattan General? I'll be right there." The phone call had definitely shaken her up, and she didn't waste the time to hang the phone back on its receiver. Instead, snatching her badge and coat and racing to the elevator. Rick just barely made it through the closing doors.

"Kate? What happened?" He asked quietly. As an answer she pulled him into a hug. His warmth comforted her, and when they finally stepped off the elevator, her make up was a little smeared. Finding her car in the parking lot, Rick realized his question still hadn't gotten an answer, so he asked her again.

She stopped, the key turned in the lock, after a second like that she pulled the car open and turned it on. "Elise Smith. Eleven years old. Missing. Ten years. Age when disappeared: 1 year and a month. Head Detective: Michael Cortez. Prime suspects: Jimmy Toole, and father Creg Smith. Both houses searched. No signs of the girl." It sounded like she was reading straight from a case folder. Both of their eyes didn't stray from their original spot, his on her, and her's on the road.

"Why does this case mean so much to you?" Kate ignored him and he dropped the subject. Finding a parking spot relatively quickly, the two walked faster than they had before. A bright looking woman sat at the reception desk and Kate walked straight to her.

"Hello. Welcome to Manhattan-"

"Yeah, cut the crap. Where's Elise Smith's room?"

"Elise Smith." She said typing the name into the computer. "Room 303, floor 3." She smiled, Kate and Rick hurried off to the elevator. He remained quiet as he knew that that was what she wanted.

Kate stood with her hand on the door knob, and closed her eyes. They opened as she leaned into the door and walked in. A young girl lay on the bed, bandages covering both her wrists, a breathing tube in her nose leading to the oxygen machine. Three fresh bruises were on her arms and face, the long brown hair touching her hips looking like it had been years since it had been cut. Kate's heart broke as she saw the young girl sleeping or something.

A doctor stood on the other side of the bed taking notes and when the two entered he held a finger to his lips. "This girl is sleeping, she needs all the rest she can get."

Numbly, Kate lifted her badge up and said, "Will you please tell us what is wrong?" The doctor came around the foot of the bed and held his hand out to shake. Rick took it for her when she didn't even react.

"I'm Doctor Miles Gardner. Elise is extremely malnourished. I'm guessing she only ate once or twice a week at the most. We're slowly feeding food back into her body." The doctor nodded.

"When will she wake up?" Kate asked her eyes still on the girl's face.

"I'm saying in the next half hour most likely. But you can't be sure." He left them all in the room and Kate took a seat next to the bed.

From his position behind her Rick said, "If you want to talk I'm here for you." He said gently, placing his hands on her shoulders and massaging them.

Sitting quiet for a little longer she said, "Three months after my mother's... death, Elise was gone. It's been ten years since I saw her last. Ten years without any word at all. For all I knew she was dead."

"You need some coffee." Rick said, knowing that she hated being asked for more information she was willing to give. She nodded thankfully. He left and five minutes later Elise's eyes fluttered open. She began breathing hard when she saw Kate sitting next to her, and the top half of her body moved as far away as she could.

"Who are you?" She said, if it had been any louder it would have been yelling. Kate leaned forward in her chair.

"Elise. You won't believe it if I told you. And I know that you aren't going to feel comfortable with me unless I make myself known to you." She spoke slowly and calmly for the state of excitement and relief washing through her. "But just listen to me and tell me if this doesn't sound familiar. 'There were bells on the hill but I never heard them ringing. No, I never heard them at all, till there was you. There were birds in the sky, but I never saw them winging. No, I never saw them at all, till there was you. And there was music, and there were wonderful roses. They tell me, In sweet fragrant meadows of dawn, and dew. There was love all around, but I never heard it singing. No, I never heard it at all, till there was you!" This was meant to be sung, but Kate just whispered the lyrics to the girl. And slowly, but surely, the girl relaxed, the tears visible in her eyes.

The first word she whispered after this was simply, "Mommy?"


End file.
